Tag: prioritize

I am a huge fan of Rick Warren. His book, The Purpose Driven Life was a catalyst for me becoming a professional organizer. The book had a huge impact on my life and was a life changer for me. Following is one of his daily devotionals about Choosing A Simpler Life. I’ve bolded the last 2 paragraphs because they say it all. Enjoy! . . . a time to embrace and a time to refrain. Ecclesiastes 3:5 (NIV) “You are the only one who can assume responsibility for your time and clarify what’s really important to you.” You’d think that… read more »

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today is a great day to review the goals and plans you had for this week (hopefully you jotted them down somewhere—and can find them) and see how you’re doing on them. Take the time to mark off those tasks that you’ve completed. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to mark things off your list. Several of the things on your list may have already taken care of themselves. If so, cross those items off too. Looking over the things still on your list, decide which items are the most important, or most difficult, for you to… read more »

If you take the time this morning to map out a plan for the week, you’ll be amazed at how much more productive you’ll be. It will only take you about 15 minutes. Think about what goals you want to (need to) accomplish this week. Then schedule or plan time in your calendar to get those things done. You will be the most successful if you tackle the toughest things first. It’s also good to plan a reward for yourself such as telling yourself after I work on this project for 2 hours, I will get my favorite coffee from… read more »

Goal setting is very important. And putting your goals down on paper can’t be stressed enough. Until you take the time to MAP out your goals, they won’t become a reality. Because we are creatures of nature, we normally spend our days doing the same things over and over. Once our goals are written down, and then broken down into manageable steps, we can begin to take action on them. If your goal is to buy a house someday, your manageable steps might look like this: Check credit reports to make sure there are no adverse things listed. Take action… read more »

Though I struggle with time clutter, I seem to excel with time management. What I mean by that is that I am able to complete tasks in a more efficient way and so my time spent is very productive. A big part of the organizing services we offer is helping people set up systems that allow them to be more productive. Some very simple tips that you could apply to your life and time right now are: Rather than running up and down the steps each time you find something that belongs either up or downstairs, put baskets at the… read more »

A bad habit that I have is that when a client or anyone else wants to schedule some of my time, I simply look to the next blank date in my calendar and pencil them in. From there, I begin to pencil in things around those initial appointments until my entire day, then entire week and eventually entire month is completely booked. At that point it is too late to take time out for myself and I end up exhausted. Our time is valuable, so it is very important that we set up certain limits and boundaries with it or… read more »

Have you ever ended your day by thinking “Did I accomplish anything?” or maybe you wonder where all of the time went. If you don’t master your schedule, it will master you! Here are some suggestions for reducing the stress of your schedule and freeing up more time for yourself: Line up your priorities. Obviously, you don’t have time to do everything, so you must make choices. You must decide what’s really important and what isn’t. Take some time to consider the direction of your life. Relax your attitude. Do you really have to do everything on your to-do list?… read more »

We normally think of clutter as physical objects, but there are many types of clutter that aren’t. Cluttering our mind with too much information, cluttering our body with too much junk food and cluttering our schedule with too many commitments are examples of other types of clutter. I have struggled with time clutter since I launched Simplified Living Solutions, Inc. I tend to fill my planner and to do list without even considering if what I am scheduling will really benefit me, my company or my family. The problem stems from the fact that I never took the time to… read more »

I’ve always been very proactive when it comes to preparing for my own death. I want to make sure that the things I’ve worked so hard for will transfer seamlessly to my children. Since I assume they will already be devastated enough by my death and the grief associated with it, I want to make things as easy as I can for them during that time. I am intrigued by the many, many people that don’t plan for their death. It’s inevitable, right? Death is the one thing that we can all count on. We’re all going to die. Because… read more »

Schedule time next week to complete what you didn’t finish this week. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete priority work. How many magazine subscriptions do you have? Does the amount of time you have to read them match the amount you are receiving? Utilize your prime time for priorites. Avoid checking email first thing in the morning. Group your tasks together such as calls to make, bills to pay, etc. Avoid multitasking; it takes the brain 4 times longer to recognize and process each time you change gears to a new task. If you switch back and forth constantly you… read more »

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About the Author

Sue Anderson, a Professional Organizer and Owner of Simplified Living Solutions, is an expert in the professional organizing field who specializes in clutter control, whole house transformations, team organizing, downsizing, unpacking and paper management.

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Since 2007, our professional organizers have helped people in and around St Louis, Missouri declutter and simplify their lives with our personal organizing services.

We understand how overwhelming, stressful and out of control life can feel when things are cluttered and disorganized. Whether you need a personal home organizer or office organization, we’re here to help you get back on track, and back in control, of your house, office, paper piles and life!